


Woe to the Fluffy Crow

by CourageousPrincess



Category: Persona 5
Genre: Gen, Mom friend Queen, Running gag of Goro's weight, this is just random cuteness I thought up
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-31
Updated: 2020-11-08
Packaged: 2021-02-27 10:14:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 13,876
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22055398
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CourageousPrincess/pseuds/CourageousPrincess
Summary: An idea I've had in mind for a while now, it's basically Crow being carried/held by the various thieves in one way or another. Fluffy, humourous story at the expense of a certain detective's pride.
Comments: 14
Kudos: 135





	1. Panther

Some days could only be described as ‘a Monday’. And it wasn’t even Monday, it was Thursday. Ducking forward, Akechi felt the shadow’s long claws ghost down his back, narrowly avoiding having them tear through cloth and flesh.

“Persona!” He cried, summoning Robin Hood, his heroic persona blasting the shadow point-blank in the face with a bless attack.

Crouching low to the ground, he stayed out of Fox’s way as the bluenette finished their foe with a sweep of his blade. With a low cry, the shadow toppled over and disintegrated; dead and defeated.

“Crow, you okay?” Skull called.

“Yes, I managed to narrowly avoid its attack, I’ll be fine,” He replied.

The bright neon glow from the flashing lights above gave Sae’s palace an eerie feeling to it. This casino of envy; filled to the brim with cognitive puppets always trying to one-up one another is a desperate gambit to rise up in the ranks. It didn’t matter who you were, who your foe was, or what you had to do to rise up; cheating and intimidation were just par for the course here.

As far as palaces and distorted desires went, Sae’s palace though eerie and cruel, wasn’t the worst out there. It was actually fairly tame, especially with the cognitions inside looking no different from people as they gambled their lives away. In the several years he’d stalked through the metaverse, through the blackened heart of Mementos’ labyrinth and the twisted hearts of palaces born from devious rulers, he’d just about seen it all.

Besides, the main root of this distortion, if his thinking was correct, was Sae’s bent sense of justice, which had been warped and twisted by the SIU director to advance his own gains. The SIU Director’s palace was far more heinous and twisted than this casino of cheaters Sae came up with. The man’s palace seemed straight out of that American horror film, “Saw” was it? Something like that. The Director, with his pension for playing games with the lives of others, was cruel indeed. Sae’s games might be rigged, but at least the player had a choice, and wasn’t risking their lives in the end.

Trailing behind the group of thieves, he kept one eye on their surroundings out of habit. He was still so unused to having others looking out for his safety. Not like he needed to get used to it, this was just a temporary endeavor until Joker was captured.

Maybe it was the lull of no shadows appearing for a while, or maybe he was just so used to someone guarding his back. Either way, he didn’t notice the quiet approach of the shadow until it was too late. The Shadow’s jaws snapped at him before he had the chance to shout, He managed to avoid getting his arm caught in the trap of pointed teeth. Grabbing his energy sword, the detective managed to avoid being skewered.

“Damnit- Crow!” He heard someone behind him shout.

Well, at least he didn’t have to fight this monstrosity alone. Darting back, he avoided being thrashed into a wall by the thing’s tail hearing the familiar cacophony of footsteps despite the dampening effect the overly plush carpet had. Relaxing some now that he knew backup was almost there, Akechi lifted a hand to his mask with the intent of summoning Robin Hood.

He didn’t get the chance. The monster lunged forward, forcing him to use both hands to grip the hilt of his weapon to keep those teeth and claws from tearing into him. The shadow smirked, an honest to god smirk, and he felt dread sink in. Bracing his body, he felt the familiar burning agony as a curse attack tore through his body. Stunned, he fell to his knees and was unable to move as his body was snatched up by those terrible teeth.

Before those teeth could sink into his flesh and grinding it to bloody ribbons, something happened to the shadow that made it growl out in pain. Thrashing about, the shadow tossed his limp body through the air, turning its attention to the indignified soul who dared to disturb it with bodily harm. Akechi squeezed his eyes shut, preparing to either his the ground or bounce off of a wall.

Neither happened. Instead, someone above(?) him let out an “Oof” as something warm caught him. The person huffed as what felt like arms shifted his weight.

“I got him!” They called.

Bleary, Akechi hesitantly attempted to open his eyes. Nope, the light hurt, and the distant sounds of the shadow meeting it’s make was not helping the pounding in his head. Was it too late to wish the monster had finished the job?

“Persona!”

Hearing the familiar call, his body felt lighter, limber, and the agonizing headache vanished. Blinking to clear his vision, he looked up to see his savior. Expecting to see Joker, maybe Fox or Skull, possibly Queen because of the quick heal. He was not expecting to see Panther’s chipper smile beam down on him. 

“…thank, you?” He tentatively murmured.

“No problem!” The blond girl chirped.

Either the twin-tailed girls was stronger than she looked, or Akechi was lighter than he should be. Panther didn’t look too terribly stressed as she held him up, one hand under his shoulders and the other under his knees, hefting him up like a bride…

“Everything okay?” Joker’s cool voice asked.

“Yep, I patched Crow up, so he should be fine.” Panther replied.

Still holding him up with ease, and showing no signs of letting him down on her own, Panther just smiled despite the fact crow had buried his face in his hands out of mortifications a while ago. Oh, and here come the others.

“We finished off that shadow, man it was annoying,” Skull grumbled.

“The way it was constantly casting curses was not beautiful at all,” Fox huffed in agreement.

“…I take it Crow is doing better,” Queen snorted. At least she wasn’t laughing.

“-I’mgoodnowthankyouforthehelp!” Akechi yelped.

Detangling himself from Panther’s surprisingly firm grip, he twisted out of her arms and dashed away with what little pride he still had intact. He was not going to be able to look the ashen blond in the face for a while, was he?

Skull snickered as they all watched Crow’s retreating back dart around a corner. Those not completely oblivious to the previous situation (Fox), could finally get their chuckles out without completely embarrassing their newest member. 

“Oh dear, and here I was hoping he’d at least let me sketch you both like that,” Fox lamented.

“Panther, you a-meow-zing!” Mona purred. “Holding crow up like that for so long must not have been easy!”

“Mona’s right, it was quite the achievement for being one of our less physically inclined members.” Noir agreed.

“Ehh, it wasn’t all that impressive,” Panther rebutted. “It was actually waaaay easier to hold him up than it looked, especially with how I was holding him- his weight was pretty evenly distributed.”

“Oh, is our dear crow a bird in more than just name and pride.~” Joker teased.

“Actually, yeah, he felt about as heavy as Mona does in this place.” Panther said bluntly. “honestly, even I was surprised,”

“That… actually sounds almost concerning,” Queen replied.

Before anyone could say anything more on the matter, Oracle’s maniacal laughter filled their ears as Crow screamed loudly “Oracle, Shut up!”.

“Oh boy,” Skull sighed. “sounds like our navi did somethin’, again.”


	2. Skull

Mementos: the dark grim labyrinth made up of the collective desires and distortions of the public; those whose darkness was not yet strong enough to manifest as full palaces just yet. Akechi was more than used to traversing the ever-changing twists and turns of the unholy palace. He’d wandered its darkness for 2, almost 3 years, acquainted himself with the workings of it, and how best to move around. They were here on one of the thieves’ regular runs, tackling the laundry list of targets Joker had acquired from the Phan-site.

It was supposed to be a routine grind, defeating minor shadows to acquire their treasure buds, clear hall after hall of those lumbering shadows with many masks. It was a simple and well-laid plan, yet they still found it falling apart.

They’d over judged their time spent on the floor, and suddenly they found the reaper all but breathing down their necks. If this had happened during flu season, it wouldn’t have been so bad- their foe would have more than likely become afflicted with despair and die quickly. But this was not flu season, and the reaper was the apex foe of mementos.

Queen had done a standup job of speeding the monabus through the winding sharp turns, keeping them out of harm's way. With Oracle guiding them, they likely would have made it safely to the escalator and escaped without fail. Unfortunately, the floor for some reason caved in, sending them all falling into darkness. And that was how they ended up in this peculiar predicament; scattered across the various levels of one of the various paths of mementos. 

“Well that left much to be desired,” He muttered sarcastically.

It was the first time something like that had happened. The labyrinth itself, once settled, was normally stable and unchanging, the publics cognitions only affected the shadows inside. Could the palace have become unstable somehow? Thinking about that he rubbed the lump forming on his head to ease the pain as he stood up.

The person he’d ended up stranded with was Skull, ooooh boy. It wasn’t that the detective had anything against the bleach blond teen, but it seemed like the two had started on rocky ground. It wasn’t that Skull was outwardly hostile to him, but there was always this tension between them: a strange nervous energy that left them both restless around each other. Skull was loyal to a fault, like a dog stuck to its master, he stuck with his friends even if it resulted in butting heads with them later. He wasn’t the smartest of their group, or the most dexterous, but he made up with that in stamina, blunt honesty, and a cheerful disposition.

The blond was still on the ground, rubbing his leg in the thigh area and around the knee. That’s right, last year his leg had been broken by the abusive PE teacher, Kamoshida. Old breaks, especially those done to the legs, tended to have lasting effects for decades. It was the reason why even if he was their fastest runner, Skull had problems running consistently. The fall had likely aggravated the bone.

“How’s your leg?” He asked, the concern he felt was at least partly genuine. Even if his role was to deceive, until their time was up he would act the part of their ally.

“Meh, it should be fine, just a little sore after that fall,” The blond responded.

Walking over to his comrade, he waited until Skull was no longer rubbing his leg before offering him a hand. The blond quietly accepted, and so he helped skull to stand. Skull looked a tad unsteady on his feet, and he walked with a clear limp, but he didn’t seem to be in any danger of collapsing. He’d keep a discreet eye on him, just as a precaution.

“Oracle, can you hear me?” He called into the stagnant air of the labyrinth. No reply.

Sans Skull, he was unsure of where the others had fallen to. They might all be on the same floor, or they could be scattered about different levels. This left the pair in a peculiar situation. If everyone else was scattered about different parts of mementos, on different floors, it would likely be next to impossible to find them all without Oracle’s assistance. Normally, it was wiser to stay put when lost, and in any other situation that would be the detective’s plan. But mementos was not like that, lingering in one place for too long made them a target not only for wandering shadows but it would attract the reaper back to them.

“I recommend we try and find a safe stop on one of the upper floors,” Akechi advised. “there we can rest and try and get in contact with Oracle. Any objections?”

“Nah, but why go up?” Skull asked.

“Shadows get stronger the deeper we dive, but get weaker the higher we go. Thusly going up is the safer thing to do.”

Skull didn’t argue with his reasoning, and begrudgingly followed his lead down the tunnel lit in a dim crimson glow. They stuck to the sides of the corridor, both for the sake of Skull's bad leg as well as to take advantage of the shadows. They were at a grave disadvantage, neither were versed in healing skills nor did they have any recovery items. For Akechi, wandering mementos alone and on foot was the norm, but for the thieves as a group, they normally used Mona’s bus form to wander about and explore.

It started out fine and quiet, no shadows crossed their path and there was no rattle of chains to warn them the reaper had come. As they walked, Skull’s limp evened out back into his usual only slightly uneven gait. Any concerns he had for the blond eased up after that. If nothing else, he was good at bouncing back.

They weren’t that far from where Akechi could feel the stairs were. Just another few turns and they could proceed, if only it were that easy. A shadow; large and black, lumbering body adorned with dozens of lapis lazuli masks that all seemed to stare at them. Cursing, the detective braced for battle. They could run, but from experience, he knew outrunning those black beasts was nye impossible, hiding was their better bet, but with his clothes stuck as in their crips white colors, that was hard to do either.

The shadow’s body warped and twisted into its true form, gleaming blades dripping scarlet in the low light. Skull shouted behind him as those fierce blades locked with his own melee weapons, steel grinding against glowing blue energy.

“Persona!”

Captain Kidd’s menacing form crashed into the shadow, forcing it to skitter back and give him some breathing room. Following Skull’s lead, he summoned Robin Hood and the pair double-teamed the monster. Kidd’s ziodyn followed by Robin’s megidola. Damaged but still standing, the shadow howled and charged at them.

Jumping out of the way, it would have been fine if not for the fire attack tossed Akechi’s way. The magic attack clipped him, but that wasn't the problem. The attack forced him to quickly twist in the air to avoid being hit, robbing him of the time needed to land properly. He hissed in pain as the side of his right ankle crashed against the chipped ground, pain shooting up his leg.

Not letting their foe retaliate, Skull hammered in a physical attack, finishing the monster off for good. Grunting through the flair of agony, he barely managed to hobble to his feet before his afflicted ankle gave out. 

“Crow, you okay?” Skull asked.

In lue of a response, he pulled up his pant leg to inspect the damage. The flesh surrounding the joint was black and swollen, even lightly ghosting against the heated flesh caused a bolt in white-hot pain. Though it wasn’t broken, he could move it despite the great discomfort it caused, there was no way it was supporting his weight, not even to hobble and limp about.

“That looks bad.” Skull winced, stating the obvious. “well, looks like we got no other choice.”

The blond kneeled down in front of him. “Alright, hop on!”

Uh, what?

“Skull, what are you trying to do?”

“I’m gonna carry you up to a safe spot, your not gonna be gettin’ far on that leg,”

Akechi was still nursing his pride after the last incident, having to be held up by Panther. He could still remember how after exiting Sae’s palace, Queen had the gal to ask if he was eating enough. Apparently it was his weight, or lack thereof that allowed Panther to hold him up with such ease.

Swallowing his protests, Akechi complied. At least being carried on the blond’s back like this wasn't as humiliating. Skull hefted him up with ease, trotting along in the direction of the stairs.

“…sorry for the inconvenience,” He murmured.

“Nah, ‘s fine,” Skulled shrugged. “but man, Panther was right, you are light!” The blond laughed. “seriously dude, how much do you weigh?”

“…classified,” He muttered darkly.

They were halfway through the next floor when Oracle reached them.

“I finally found everyone, Noir and I are in a safe zone, I’ll guide everyone to us.”

“Effin finally!” Skull cried.

“Is everyone okay?”

“For the most part, Skull and I encountered a minor setback, but we’re fine,” Crow replied.

“Yeah, Crow and I ran into a shadow, Crow’s ankle is pretty banged up,” Skull added. “Oh, tell Panther she was right, Crow really does weight about as much as Mona!”

“Skull what the hell!” Crow screeched.

Both boys could hear Oracle cackling from her vantage point in Necronomicon. And right after Crow had gotten her to hush up about last time.


	3. Queen

They were once again in Sae’s casino of envy. After an awkward few days between dives into the metaverse, they were ready to make more progress. Akechi still refused to look either Panther or Skull in the face, his pride still bruised and beaten from the trauma of last time. It was bad enough he’d been hefted up like a feather pillow by both blonds, but to hear offhanded that he was indeed potentially lighter than was considered healthy for a teen of his size was humiliating. Not only because that screamed to the other 6 he wasn’t taking proper care of himself (he wasn’t- but like hell he wanted people to know that), but also because Queen, as the mom friend of the thieves’, had inquired about his weight, again, and even offered to send him home with some food.

It was mortifying and painful to be called out like that. He’d lived most of his life taking care of himself, and thinking he was doing an okay job of it. It wasn’t his pride that was hurting from her inquiring, but his heart that was guarded and closed off. For nearly all of his life, no one had given him a second look, had cared about his health or well-being. And now, suddenly a whole team of people had the nerve to pretend to care? It burned in a way that made Loki thrash about in his head, screaming and demanding to kill and destroy.

To any outside observer, it was plain to see Akechi, Crow, wasn’t truly a part of the thieves’ group. The others were more than a meter ahead of him, talking and chatting to each other like old friends, while the thief in white was left out. He wasn’t lonely (he kept telling himself that- soon enough it would be true), he was used to being an outsider wherever he went. This whole affair was temporary, anyhow, and just a front he put on to get what he wanted.

It was all a big lie, and the clock would soon enough strike twelve. 

“Crow,” Queen’s calm voice cut through his brooding thoughts like a hot knife to butter.

Burring those dark thoughts beneath his princely mask, porcelain white to hide every spec of black rot. His charming smile easily fell into play. Years of playing roles to please others at the drop of a hat, even before becoming the famed detective prince, made switching gears second nature.

“We’re splitting up to gather tokens, Joke wants us to check out the logic games,” She explained.

Behind her, the others were dispersing in groups of two; Skull and Noir, Fox and Mona, Panther and Joker. Each was heading out in a different direction, each one tasked to check out a different set of games. Logic games, eh? As the smartest and most tactful two among their group, they were the best choice besides Joker himself. The atmosphere between the two crimson-eyed brunettes was still heavy and tense, thanks to the girl’s mother hening. But, he was a professional, and wasn't about to let personal feelings get in the way of a mission.

Beaming over at his temporary partner for the evening, he nodded. “Lead the way.”

Unlike the slot machines and the dice games, gambling that was built on random chance, logic games were bets made on thinking and smarts. They could be as simple as trivia, or as complex as answering difficult equations. Poker and other card games could be won with logic and thinking, but counting cards was usually frowned upon (by the house, it thrived on the chaos of ‘luck’). There were several different types of games to choose from, a diversity many of the other rooms lacked. In traditional casinos, these forms of gambling were low-risk, low-return because of the nature of these games made it easier to predict the outcomes. Sae’s casino was anything but traditional. The silver-haired woman somehow found a way to make these games high-stake, revamping the rules into something new.

“Queen, which of these do you feel most confident in?” He asked casually.

“Hmm, I’m better at things rooted in logic and strategy,” She replied after a moment. “I’m decent at English, but better with subjects like math and science, what about you?”

“Not that different. My English might be better than yours- I’m good enough I don’t need a translator for a casual conversation, but that’s all.” He answered with a small shrug. “the only art I have a firm grasp in is literature, but I think we both have an idea of what games are best suited for us.”

Queen nodded in silent agreement, leading the charge over to one of the games. 

Whether it was chess or shogi, games of logic and strategy were where Akechi shined best. Deductions and detective work, as well as espionage, were a lot like a game of chess. Two sides in a silent battle of wits, each one trying to out-maneuver the other, cutting away at each other’s numbers until eventually the ‘king’ was dethroned. These logic games were popular, nearly as much as sports like baseball or soccer. Matches between professionals could be as cutthroat and harrowing to watch as a big-league baseball match. 

Taking the spot across from the pleasant-faced cognition, the game began. It was already skewed in the cognition’s favor, the white side always moved first. There was an untouched irony in being dressed in white while commanding black pawns, enough that he chuckled at it. Thankfully, the small sound was easy enough to write off as confidence, which he had in spades. Sae had a gasp of the game, enough to have the rules down and craft a decently skilled cognition to act as his opponent. But, for someone like Akechi, who spent years playing the game competitively, the difference between them was that of a casual player and a dedicated veteran.

In the first 10 moves, he already had the shadowy cognition backed into a corner. Most of its pawns had been claimed, as well as a bishop and queen. It wasn't a checkmate just yet, but many considered the loss of a queen to be the prelude to such. For the cognition, in a few moves the king would be his to claim, and the game over. Off to the side, even Queen seemed mildly surprised to see how quick and sterile that match was shaping out to be.

Claiming one of the cognition’s knights with a bishop, Akechi smirked. Check. Only a few more moves, and it would be checkmate. His opponent could see as such, already locked in kovote. That last move had been a blunder, it’s entire defense was falling apart.

“This was an interesting game, but I think it’s high time I end this now,” He said.

Reaching out a gloved hand to his queen, his eyes glittered with malicious delight. This wouldn’t be a checkmate, but no matter what the cognition did in its turn, the next move he got, Akechi would topple the king.

“Crow- look out!”

Strong arms wrapped around his abdomen as Akechi was yanked from his seat and dragged into the air. Tucked under one of Queen’s arms, the brunette male watched as a shadow with grizzly teeth and claws crashed into his seat moments after. It really wasn’t as surprising as it could have been. It wasn’t the first time Sae used shadows to disrupt her games in her favor. It still was a cheap trick. Any ideas of fighting the shadow were flown out the window when three more came to back up the first. Still tucked under an arm, Akechi tried to protest when his partner began running headlong into the panicked crowd of startled patrons.

The detective was smart enough not to struggle as she ran, and was thankful enough not to be slung over those shoulder spikes of her’s. It still hurt his pride to be carried the entire time, but it wasn’t as cutting as with Panther. He’d seen Queen reduce shadows to mush with those firsts of hers, the young woman more than had the strength to hold a boy his size and sprint to safety without lagging from the weight.

“Now I know what Panther and Skull meant, Crow, I don’t mean to be rude, but I’m almost certain boys your age aren’t supposed to weigh 40 kilograms.” She observed.

“…I’ll have you know I weigh more than that,” He muttered.

He wasn’t that light. Though, his diet could probably use more consistent meals. An entire apple for lunch didn’t offer much in the way of calories or nutrition. Queen hummed, thankfully didn’t argue with him about that. The last thing he needed was her asking what his actual weight was. It had been a while since he’d last stepped on a scale, so the number in his head probably wasn’t accurate anymore.

At least no one else was here to see him like this.

“Hehe, Crow, I’ll have you know I am exactly 50 kilos~!” Oracles voice pitched in.

Crap, he forgot about her omnipresent eye.

“I’m not 40 kilos! That is a gross exaggeration of my weight, which is perfectly healthy, thank you very much!” He snapped back at the unseen redhead.


	4. Fox

When you mention eccentricity and the Phantom Thieves, the first person to come to mind is usually Fox. Akechi didn’t interact with the blue-haired artist all that often outside of battle, the taller youth always seemed astray in his own head. The detective wasn’t an art person, per say, not in the sense that he went to art galleries to enjoy the painting and sculptures on display. Paintings, drawings, pottery, they all just seemed to blur together in his mind, becoming this fuzzy amalgamation of colors and shapes that never made sense. When asked what his thoughts on a piece were, he would always offer his picture-perfect smile and pull some generic compliment from the depths of his mind. He could appreciate art for what it was, and could easily see the bluenette was a genius in his own right with a brush, but painting just wasn't for him.

Now, if you asked him about the literary art of Edogawa Ranpo, Sir Arther Conan Doyal, or even Mark Twain, you would get a much different response. Books had been a constant companion throughout his less-than-lackluster childhood of trauma and loss. Novels, poetry, his mind gobbled up such words like Mona at a fatty tuna bar. Books were preferable to people; they didn’t hurt you, they didn’t yell at you, they could take you to a different place, let you see a world through the eyes of someone else. It was through reading detective novels that he aspired to become one himself. It was even part of the reason he’d donned the surname ‘Akechi’.

Once more the pair found themselves stopping to let Fox admire the architecture, again. It wasn’t bad, Akechi found it to be an endearing quality of his temporary ally. Sae’s palace was certainly one of the more, tasteful ones he’d traversed over the years. While her shadow was in a position of absolute power, like all other palace rulers, the casino itself wasn’t that self-centered of a place. No murals or painting depicting her in grandeur and royal power, no questionable statues carved in her liking, no horde of cognitions meekly singing everlasting praise.

“My! What attention to detail!” Fox breathed. “A fellow classmate of mine told me about the effort needed to chisel stone like this, it can take hours upon hours of slow, careful hammering to get a rough shape, and then even more hours to sand it down to perfection!”

“But most of this was made, quite literally, from thin air, no artist made any of this, just Sae-san’s mind,” He pointed out.

“True, none of this was made by a commissioned artist, but that doesn’t mean I cannot appreciate the high quality of the carving and sculpting,” Fox replied.

Shrugging, Akechi chose not to argue. The artist had a better grasp of these things than he did, he was the expert. The subject in question Fox was admiring was the banister of a sweeping staircase. A creat level of detail had been chiseled into the dark and pale marble, the light from the lights rippling across its surface like an ocean tide.

“…It would make a lovely background in a painting, or a fine setting in a book,” The white-clad ‘thief’ conceded.

It was fun to see these kinds of grand pieces in photos or pictures them from the description in a book. But, whenever he saw something like this in the real world, the dripping riches that emanated from such shows of wealth made him want to gag. His life was not the easy, smooth sailing his detective persona made it seem like he’d grown up in. From a young age, he’d been forced to learn how to survive on his own, expected to do so by the adults around him. His childhood was a life of little luxury, and seeing the wealthy flaunt their riches like this was a smack to the face.

But this was not reality, this was a palace. Sae was no rich bastard, she was an overworked prosecutor with a few morals loose and bent, some from the trauma of losing her father, others from the words of the SIU director and his scheming.

Lost in his head, it was only the years of having to guard his own back that enabled him to hear that growl. A soft, quiet sound, warning that a predator of loose, and they were not a fellow hunter.

“Fox, look out!” He howled.

Shoving the blue-haired painter aside, merciless claws sparked against the body of his beam sword, the phantasmal blue glinting deep in cruel pools of amber. His weapon protected him from those claws, but they didn’t save him from a maw of teeth like shards of jagged glass. Those drool-slick fangs fank into the unprotected flesh of his right shoulder like steak knives. Mishaps like this seemed to be happening often lately.

“Crow!” Fox shouted somewhere behind him.

Akechi managed to suppress a yelp as the shadow lurched back, teeth yanking at torn flesh as the brunette was pulled back with the monster. Slobber and blood dribbled down his arm, a stain of rose pink blooming around yellow fangs. The detective managed to keep a death grip on his weapon, good arm flailing as the monstrous shadow tossed him about like a chew toy. No matter how hard he was squeezed, he wasn’t going to squeak. 

“Goemon!” 

The shadow lurched sideways as something crashed into an unguarded flank. It’s jaw swung open to let out an ear-splitting shriek of pain and fury, Akechi sliding off its teeth and dropping from its maw. Gritting his teeth, the brunette branched for the coming impact and tried to roll his body into a position that wouldn’t utterly kill his shoulder when he hit the ground. 

Instead of falling onto the cold, unforgiving ground, his wounded body fell into something that bended, bleeding the moment up and stopping him before he could ricochet off the carpeted floor. He’d endured enough situations like this in the last week to know he was cradled in someone’s arms. It was similar to the time he’d been caught and held up by Panther, but this time he wasn’t cradled quite like a bride.

“What an ugly thing, but do not worry, I’ll put you out of your misery!” Fox sneered.

The shadow let out a roar, displeased by the horrendous treatment and loss of its prey. With a wave of his pip, Goeman had frost creeping up the shadow’s dark hide. Thick trunks of ice welded it’s legs in place, preventing it from rushing at them. With the monster theory rooted in place, the persona made quick work of its foe; slashing and skewering the beast with physical attacks.

“Hmm, yes, I see,” Fox murmured above him.

“Hm? Did something about the shadow catch your eye?” He asked.

“Oh- No. Now that I have you in my arms like this, I think I have a grasp of the anatomy of this position. Yes, a wonderful painting is coming to mind-“

“Can. It.” He hissed, shoving the taller male’s head up by the soft underside of his jaw.

*later*

“Kitagawa, are you going to have enough money to buy food?” Akechi asked.

He’d been asked to keep an eye on the artist while the other shopped for new paints. Their mutual leader had warned him the bluenette was notorious for spending all his money on art supplies, leaving little left for important things like food. He’d quietly watched Kitagawa peruse the many paints, comparing and contrasting all sorts of shades. It was mind-boggling to see so many different shades of white and black- the two colors that never seemed to change.

The artist’s basket was piled with several different paints, from tubes of oils to small jars of more water-based pigments. Alongside those were several sticks of charcoal, new brushes, and a box of specialized crayons (for whatever reason). No matter how he ran the numbers, the total always came to an exorbitant price that ate up nearly all of his spending money. He was starting to see why the other male needed a supervisor.

“I’ll get by somehow, I hear bean sprouts are on sale,” The bluenette replied.

Okay, enough, Akechi was putting his foot down. Time to talk some sense into this dolt.

“Kitagawa, beansprouts don’t count as a meal, besides, do you even need all this? What was on your shopping list?” He pressed.

Kitagawa gave him a blank look, as though he was speaking in complex English. Wait, don’t tell me- did the idiot not take inventory of his supplies?! The brunette had a history of skipping proper meals, but it was never because he over-spend his money on this. His budget was always triple checked before he bought anything. And he always had a list before doing essential shopping.

“Kitagawa, please tell me you have a shopping list.” He pleaded. 

The bluenette shook his head. Groaning, Akechi massaged his temples. This explained, well, a lot of things. This, people, is how you become a starving artist.

“Food isn’t that important, as long as I can paint, I’m content.” Kitagawa hummed. “Though, I have been struggling with artist’s block lately, the ideas just don’t come as easily as they used to.”

“Yes, and I’m positive that your brain’s way of telling you it’s not getting enough to eat,” Akechi replied dryly, the desert had nothing on his tone.

Kitagawa gave him a questioning look.

“You’re brain needs calories just the same as your muscles. If you aren’t eating enough, it can become harder for your brain to think, and subsequently makes creativity difficult.” He explained with a heavy sigh. “you’re artist block could be because you aren’t eating enough. I suspect if you bought more food and ate more regularly, it would be easier to paint.”

“But, my paints, how can I-“

“Do you even know what you have at your dorm?” Akechi cut the younger boy off. When Kitagawa shook his head, he gave him a flat look. “so, for all you know, you could have several unopened jars of paint waiting to be used.”

Kitagawa looked pained. Caught between the conflict of needing material for his craft and needing sustenance for his body. It was painfully clear someone needed to explain priorities to the boy. Madarame clearly did a horrible job raising the boy- no shocker there.

“Here, let’s put all this back, for now, take inventory of what you have at your dorm, make a list of things you need, and come back here another day,” Akechi offered. “…after we get you a decent dinner.”

Yes, it was hypocritical of him to snap at Kitagawa over poor dietary choices when he himself was no better- Robin Hood, you can shut up- but at least it was because of learned habits from his youth.

“…Thank you, for the assistance,” The blue-haired boy mumbled.

“Thank me after we inventory your dorm, I have a feeling we’ll be stumbling across things you bought and quickly forgot about.”


	5. Noir

There were two reasons Akechi didn’t say no when Noir offered him some of her farm-fresh, self-grown vegetables. One, she was smiling oh so sweetly, like a true angel as she offered him the fruits of her labor. Two, he knew that smile was deceptive, had seen the curly-haired brunette tear shadows apart with a gleeful smile, or blast them into oblivion with Milady. He was 90% certain if he turned her down, the girl would try and shove them down his throat in the name of self-care. She and Queen had taken to tag-teaming him to ensure he ate at least 1 decent meal.

His weight wasn't that bad, but the steadier flow of calories made him feel more awake in class. Not that his pride would let him admit that. It also made his solo mission in mementos easier, having the energy to bounce back from one trip to the metaverse and right into another. If they knew their mother henning was making it easier for him to kill, would they be so eager to intervene in his health?

Munching on a carrot, he looked away from the smaller girl’s triumphant smile. Being alone with her, the orphaned daughter of Kunikazu Okumura, already made him feel emotions he’d rather bury deep inside. It was the same when he was alone with Oracle. Seeing them forced up painful memories, memories that made him hesitate- stumble when he shouldn’t. It was obvious by the taste, crisp and earthen, that this wasn’t from the supermarket. Mass grown produce didn’t taste this rich, or maybe it was just his brain letting him know how starved for actual sustenance he was.

The two were alone in the high limits slots room, tucked into a dark corner. Noir had strong-armed him into taking a snack break, practically shoving the vegetables as well as a thermos of iced green tea into his hands. He knew better than to argue with her, knew he would only end up wasting time trying to weasel his way out of the meal. A bitter aftertaste clung, heavy and sticky on his tongue after swallowing another mouthful of carrot. The bitter, medicine that didn’t go away, even after gulping down a mouthful of the tea.

Why? Why did they care whether he was eating enough anyhow? He was a detective, their natural enemy, the person who just before all this was trying to get them caught? Even if they didn’t know about his betrayal, he’d forced his way into their ranks with blackmail and threats, not exactly the best way to start a working relationship. It perplexed him, how quickly they integrated him as one of their own, despite that rocky start. Skull, who’d butted heads with him several times in the distant past, now more often than not, clapped him on the shoulder after a day’s work. The people who should be suspicious of him, should be watching his every move for any sign of betrayal, where being so casual and open with him. All of it made his head spin.

It hurt.

He refused to let himself believe any of this was real, that it was all a ploy to make him trip. For someone like him, who only knew of betrayal and hurt, trust was a dream that could never come true. Even if it meant having to drive and twist a blunt, poisoned knife into his heart, he would remain closed off, leave his heart frozen down at the bottom. Companions? Friends? He didn’t know what those were, didn’t need them.

Finishing the last of this improved meal, the detective handed the thermos back to Noir, and smiled with false gratitude.

“Thank you, for the meal.” The words burned on his tongue.

“No problem, we look out for each other,” Noir chirped in response.

Falling in step behind her, Akechi prepared to follow his fellow thief when his instincts, locked into overdrive after the steak of recent misfortune, kicked in and had him shoving Noir aside. The slot machines right where they’d been standing erupted into fire and sparks, broken bits of metal and plastic raining down on them like a light rain. Behind them, a shadow’s amber eyes glinted maliciously as it sneered over at them, enraged by the miss.

“Crow- Thanks,” Noir murmured, crouching beside him.

“…It’s fine, you’d do the same,” He replied softly.

There was only one shadow present, but with the resulting panic from that last attack, it wouldn’t be long before backup arrived. Either they took it out now, or tried to shake it off as they fled. Mulling over both in his head, both had their drawbacks. Fighting it would eat up time, but the shadow could prove too tenuous to lose in a chase. The isles of slots left them at a disadvantage, they created a funnel of sorts that would make dodging attacks limited and difficult.

Before he could ask the brunette girl her thoughts on the matter, Noir made the decision for them. Hefting the body of her polearm over his shoulders, the purple thief glared down the shadow with a familiar ferocity. Fight it was, then.

“Persona!” They screamed in unison.

Both Milady and Robin were ranged fighters, one packing enough firepower to rival a small battlecruiser and the other a bow-wielder. The female persona unloaded, sparks and the perfume of burnt gunpowder dancing in the air. Not exactly the type of attack you’d be eager to be on the receiving end of. When the bullets tapered to a close, Robin Hood followed up with brave blade. The shadow collapsed, still alive, but just barely. Raising his omnidirectional sword up to finish the shadow off, he caught the desperate glint in furious amber.

Jumping back, Akechi managed to avoid taking the brunt of the desperate attack, but his side was still nicked. The moment skin was broken, however small and shallow a wound it was, his body became heavy and limp. Noir cracked her ax down upon the shadow’s head, splitting its skull wide open and finally killing it. Even if it survived the blow, all the shadow would have seen was Noir removing the status ailment with an amrita shower.

Returning their personas to their masks, the pair booked it just in time to head the muffled thunder of footsteps on the lush carpet behind them as backup arrived. Ducking and weaving through the maze of slots and flashing lights, the room’s exit was just in sight. Almost home free!

Just as their hopes swell, violently they were crushed. A shadow dropped from above, human shape dressed in dark robes, blocking their path. They could force their way through, but this shadow was stronger than the last. It would take longer to fight, eating away at their chance to escape their pursuers.

“Persona! Robin Hood, Hamaon!” He cried.

In a flurry of azure fire, the heroic white thief drew back his bow, deading the inst-kill bless attack. This was their best- only shot as ending the fight before it began. The arrow of light flew through the air, hitting a bullseye as the attack struck the feminine shadow in the chest. It let out a dying wail before crumbling to dust. It wasn’t a critical, but thank god the shadow wasn’t immune to bless.

“Stop! Halt!” A biting voice howled behind them.

Damnit! The shadows had caught up!

Breaking into a full-on sprint, the pair raced to the exit, their one chance at freedom. Just a little more, the room’s exit was right there!

“Bufula!”

Robin Hood only had one weakness; curse. Panther was the one with an ice weakness, so the attack should have been a parting blow, not enough to stop him. Unfortunately, the shadow got lucky. The bufu attack was a critical hit, tripping him up as frost nipped at his body. There was no way he could escape like this. The shadows would be upon his by the time he recovered, and that was if they didn’t get any potshots in before then. He wasn’t about to die here, not before he dragged that man down into hell. The instant Noir escaped, he could call upon Loki and claw out an opening to escape.

He forgot how tenacious the Phantom Thieves could be.

Before his weak body could hit the ground, he was pulled up. With a quiet huff, Noir hoisted him over her shoulder like a bag of soil. Noir was deceptively strong enough that he didn’t feel too self-conscious about being hefted up over her shoulder.

“…next time, I think I’ll bring you with me for coffee, a café I frequent had these lovely chiffon cakes,” Noir said quietly.

A nice way of hinting he still needed to put on weight without outright saying she thought he was underweight. Free coffee and dessert… acceptable.

“…that sounds, nice,” He relented just as softly.


	6. Oracle

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This counts as Futaba carrying him, I guess. Futaba's one of the physically weakest members, using her persona in place of herself made the most sense.

“Aw man, Joker, and here I thought those glasses were fake, guess not~.” Oracle teased.

“And here I thought your glasses were prescription, maybe I should borrow them some time,” Their raven-haired leader kidded back.

Hearing Joker and Oracle tease and joke with each other reminded him of two siblings, close enough in age that their interests coaligned, but far enough between their ages that there wasn’t much of a rivalry between them. It was a strange, foreign thing to see. Akechi had been both an only child, and a sibling- at different times growing up. He was his mother’s only child, and had lived as such until her untimely death at an early age. From there, he’d been passed from foster homes and orphanages for almost a decade. Some homes, he was an only child, in others he was either in the middle or near the youngest end.

With the exception of Queen, who was a younger sister, all of the thieves were only children. As far as they knew, Mona didn’t have any memories of his past. Some days, the detective wished he could forget, about his mother, about his hatred, about everything that hurt. Those were the days when he couldn't muster the energy to dodge, letting the shadows hurled his body broken into the air only for it to crash back to the ground in mementos. There was something soothing, like the comfort of a razor cutting flesh to ribbons, when his body was left bleeding and broken. The comfort of a pain of his choosing.

He was well aware it was self-harm, but didn’t have enough mental health left to give a flying fuck.

“Alright, we’ll meet back here when our missions are done, let’s roll!”

Ah, shit. He’d gotten so lost in his head he’d missed what was going on around him. Panther and Fox ran off in one direction, Queen and Mona in another, and Joker, Skull, and Noir jumped one of the railings, leaving him alone with Oracle.

“Alright noob, let’s head out!” She cried.

“A-ah, right,” he stumbled. What were they doing? “Erm, Oracle, what is our mission?”

“We’re going back down to the main floor and neck back into that control room. Joker wants to see if I can hack into and remove the cheating code on the higher limit floor,” She explained, bouncing on her heels. “and you, my dear black birb, are my protection from the shadows.”

Ahh, so all he had to do was make sure the spunky ginger girl remained safe. Easy enough, she could retreat into Necronomicon during a battle, and the bottom floor had the weakest lot of shadows. He could use an easy mission after the craziness of these last several treks through the palace.

“Alright, lead the way,” He hummed.

They had started fairly close to the lobby, and by extension, the main elevator. The lesser cognitions left them well and truly alone as he followed at Oracle’s heels as the Pettit redhead marched on proudly to the elevator. In the real world, she was a young girl still learning how to cope with the trauma of losing her mother, and the estimated ex-hacker of justice Medjed. Here, she was their non-combative support hacker, Oracle; the seer who would guide them all to victory. She had come far from the shy, scared little girl who blamed herself for the death of Ishiki Wakaba.

Dr. Ishiki, the metaverse researcher who’d data Shido stole through her death. The woman was also one of his first kills. It still made his blood boil when he thought about the pain that bastard had put her through when he’d pined Ishiki’s death on her thin shoulders. He knew what it was like to shoulder that burden all alone, was buckling under his own guilt over his mother’s death. 

“So, do you only have birdseed at home?” Oracle asked.

“…What?”

“Well, you don’t eat much, and you're so light,” She replied. “if you need a place to eat, stop by Leblanc and have some of Sojiro’s curry! It might be cheap, but you won’t taste anything better.”

“Heh, I’ll keep that in mind,”

He was a little off-put by this sudden compassion. He and Oracle never interacted much in a one-on-one sense- unless she was teasing him. That happened quite often, and most of her wisecracks involved his –light- weight. He still was hesitant to pull out the scale, the last thing he needed was to get an unhealthy number and have Queen wrestle it out of him. Then not even a cease and desist would save him from her mother hen wrath.

When they were close to the control center, Akechi took charge. It was still awkward moving around in the shadows while dressed in all white, but after several weeks he’d learned to manage. Creeping along the walls, Oracle tucked behind him, he managed to keep them out of sight. Soon enough, they reached the empty control room. Leaving Oracle to her work, the detective leaned against a free table.

Not long now. The deadline was fast approaching, and they were almost done securing the infiltration route. All they needed was the necessary 100,000 chips and they could cross the bridge. He had a sneaking suspicion it would not be that easy, Sae’s shadow didn’t come across as keen with playing fair. This entire palace was one big cheater’s den, trickery and curveballs were par for the course. It was the reason why he had the other player’s card safely tucked away on his person. He would dutifully gather chips, and hopefully ensure there was no hiccup later down the line.

“Alright, I’m done,” Oracle groaned, stretching out her spine.

“That was fast, did you learn anything?” He inquired.

“Yeah, I won’t be able to hack into the high-end floor from down here- two different sever domains,” She explained. “but, I learned where the server room up top is, wanna check it out?”

“That would be best, I just hope the security isn’t as tight,” Akechi mused.

Upon hearing his concern, Oracle chuckled darkly and grinned. The foreboding expression had his gut sinking. Whenever Oracle had that look on her face, nothing good ever happened. He knew that much from experience.

“Don’t worry, little Crow, I have a way to get us there safely~.” The redhead sang.

He watched warily as the ginger was lifted up into her persona. He might have found the sight of Necronomicon crammed into the tight server room to be comical, if he wasn’t scared for the safety of his remaining pride. The same black and green tentacle-esk arms that lifted Oracle into her persona reached down. Yelping, he tried to dart out of the way, but those arms were too quick.

Necronomicom’s tentacle-esk arms wrapped around his body. One snaked around each arm, another pair around his legs, one around his middle. He was thankful none of the thieves were around to see this, him being carried by the UFO persona’s metallic arms. Suspended in the air like that, he gave in. No amount of struggling would set him free.

Necronomicon zipped around with all the spread of a persona in its class. They sped past the ever-vigilant shadows before the masked creatures could spot them and react. Skipping the elevator and returning to the high-end floor, the persona flew down the hallways leading to the server room. Setting him back down on his feet, Oracle cackled at his mortification as she was deposited from her persona.

“Oh my god, if I was just a few centimeters bigger, I think even I could carry you!” She teased. “me, the shut-in hacker who spent several months hiding from the sun!”

“Oh shut it, you still weren’t able to carry me, you had to have your persona do it!” He snapped back.

“Oh, don’t worry my adorable birdy detective, give me a few years- no, a few months to work up my strength and grow a few centimeters, and then we’ll see who gets the last laugh!”

Groaning, Akechi buried his face in his hands. Damnit, damnit, damnit. His pride still hurt from that. It was bad enough that he’d been carried around by some rip-off tentacle monster, but now here she was proclaiming she, the person he was unofficially tired with for the second lightest member of the team (Mona had first place) was saying all she needed was a little time before she two could carry him around.

Bemoaning his life choices, he was too flustered to notice as Oracle toed around behind him. Small arms locked around his hips, followed by a loud groan as Oracle heaved him up. It was only a few centimeters, and for a maximum of 3 seconds, but, for a moment, Oracle did indeed lift him off the floor. Her arms gave out quickly, sending both of them crashing to the floor, but it was enough for the ginger to flash him a triumphant smile.

“Wow, okay, you were lighter than I’d thought. Maybe if I hold you like Panther and Fox did, I could keep you up longer.” She mused out loud.

“No! Enough- just heck the system already!” He screeched.


	7. Mona

It was official, fate was a bitch. Akechi gritted his teeth as he raced down the empty hallway of Sae’s casino, a pack of shadows hot on his heels. Somehow, he’d found himself separated from the other thieves, the 8 of them all together when the shadows had descended. With Robin Hood, there was a chance -a slim one- that he could fend off his attackers, that was if he got lucky and none of them were faster than him, had curse attacks, or landed a critical blow to him. His best bet was either to somehow shake them or use Loki.

The shadows were only a few paces behind him, matching him step for step as they pursued him: practically breathing down his neck at this point. There was no place in sight where he could duck around a corner fast enough to shake them. Oracle, with her analytical persona that was ever vigilant and always taking in data from all parts of the palace would notice the dark persona the moment he called upon the trickster god’s power. If she were able to tell that the new signal was him, or if any if the thieves were to stumble across him fighting, the jig was up, and his lies exposed.

With so few options to choose from, and his side starting to ache from all the frantic running, he was going to have to pick a choice and run with it. Oracle wasn’t screaming in his ear, nor could he feel any of the Phantom Thieves nearby, but he was in a bit of a pinch, so it was a rush job. He didn’t know the hallways that well, either, having left the navigation to their young hacker.

“tch, I refuse to die here,” The brunette growled. “Let’s see who I can blast into oblivion with Robin Hood alone,”

His polished dress shoes skidded across the carpeted floor before the soles braced, whirling around, beam sword in hand, the detective snarled as he stared his foes down.

“Persona!” He howled. “Robin Hood, megidola!”

The multi-targeting almighty attack hit all of the shadows, a perfect bullseye. Now that he wasn’t running for dear life, he could clearly see the number of foes he had to take out. 5, not the enormous hoard of monster’s he’d feared awaited him. A few of them had even been knocked down thanks to the extra effects of the almighty attack. Not wasting a moment, he sought to thin the ranks. The series of Hamaon and Mudoon attacks did a number on his SP, but he did manage to kill two of the shadows.

One of the three remaining shadows leapt forward, claws aimed from his ribs. He managed to block the initial stroke, but was fairly occupied when one of the other two darted forward, the tip of it’s sword glinting in the harsh neon glow of the lights above. Darting back, he managed to avoid being skewered through the stomach. Pain flared through his right leg, causing him to stumble. Behind the other two shadows, the third one smirked, it’s fire spell leaving him limping and slow. Hissing, he had Robin Hood target that shadow with a brave blade, tearing off a chunk of its health.

With a lame leg, Akechi wasn’t as agile. It left him wide open to combo attacks, earning him several nasty cuts and a few more burns. He managed to kill the shadow lobbing fire at him, but that still left the two brawler shadows, and his health wasn’t exactly full. With no items on hand, and no healing spells to make up the difference, but was at a stalemate. He was limited with what he could do with Robin Hood, only having some bless, curse, as well as his physical and almighty attacks.

“Nya, Persona!” A youthful voice shouted.

Zorro sailed overhead, rapier poised for battle. Mona offered him a confidant smirk as the black and white monster cat waddled bounced over from behind. The not-cat’s persona tore into the shadows with a magarula.

“Sorry I’m a little late, the shadows here are no joke,” The supposed human said.

“…You’re here now, at least,” He replied with a soft chuckle.

The cool, inviting power of dia washed over his battered body. The unrelenting pain of his nastier cuts and burns eased away into nothing. Reinvigorated, and pissed off as hell at the shadows, Akechi felt his detective persona slip. His normally calm smile stretched into a fierce, bitter grin that was far from kind and merciful. With Mona there to keep his health up, the brunette had free reign to tear into the shadows with brave blade after brave blade.

His burned leg was still a bit sluggish, but he could easily grit his teeth and push through it as he attacked. Within a matter of minutes, the shadows were reduced to little more than piles of scattering ash. Breathing hard after such a drawn-out battle, it could really be annoying sometimes being limited to Robin Hood, he dropped to his knees. His leg was starting to hurt with a vengeance.

“Alright, let me fix us up- Gyaaa!” Mona squeaked.

“What- another shadow?!” He hissed, dragging his smarting body back to its feet.

“N-no, I just used up more magic than I intended, I don’t have enough for a media,” The black not-cat grumbled.

If that was all, Akechi could have done without the dramatic reveal. Urk, his body hurt. It felt like he’d been run over by a small train or a truck.

“Bah, the others aren’t that far from here, think you can walk?” Mona asked. Blue eyes raked him over. “Uhh, maybe we shouldn’t push it,” He said before Akechi could answer.

“So, should we wait for them to come to us?” He wheezed.

“Well, I would rather not, the shadows could jump us at any time,” Mona murmured.

In the real world, their small feline friend was a very normal looking black cat with white paws and a white muzzle- reminiscent of how he looked in the metaverse. In the cognitive world, he was larger, about the size of a small child, and was able to walk on two legs. Zorro, his persona, was a wind attuned one with a weakness to thunder and one of their resident healers. He was too small to lift Akechi, if that was the not-cat’s plan.

As if catching wind of his thoughts, Mona only smirked. “Don’t worry, I got this,”

If that was supposed to reassure him, if was a poor attempt.

Mona waddled around him, slipping up behind him. The cat was stronger than he looked. Huffing a few timed, he managed to not quite lift him up, but pull him up off the ground. Before his burned leg could give out, Zorro scooped him up into the persona’s arms. This was… new. With one large hand under his middle back, and another under his thighs, the cat’s persona held him like how one holds a cat. It wasn’t as bad as being held up by Panther or Fox, considering it was a persona that was holding him, but it was a tad embarrassing.

*later*  
The weightless feeling of falling had Akechi’s stomach flailing as his footing slipped from the banister. He’d fallen from greater heights and come out alright, but it didn’t make the drop any less harrowing or gut churning. Before gravity could tug him down to the floor several meters below, something grabbed his wrist.

“Urk, that, wasn’t as bad as I was expecting,” Mona grunted above him.

Holding the sleeve of his white blazer in both paws, the black not-cat managed to hold him suspended in the air. It wasn’t entirely easy, by the telling small grunts squeaking out, but for being their smallest member, it was an impressive feat in of itself.

“Crow!” “Ah Shit- nice catch Mona-mona!”

Grabbing the banister with his other hand, the brunette detective managed to heave his body up enough to gain a solid footing on the edge of the floor- with the much-appreciated assistance of Mona. Jumping the banister to place himself on the safe side of the wood and marble railing, he offered the black feline a slight smile.

“Thanks,”

Mona grinned. “My pleasure, comrades look out for each other!”


	8. Joker

The last day of this charade finally arrived. The day Akechi would aid the Phantom Thieves in stealing Sae’s heart, and then capture Joker; dooming him to die. The brunette felt more somber and morose of this fact than he’d anticipated. Sad that is had to end like this- that it had to end at all. Though he had walked in with a closed and locked heart, wary and suspicious of everyone and everything, the thieves had grown on him. Like a particularly stubborn and resilient bit of ivy.

His phone was face down on his desk across the room, Akechi himself tucked into the opposite corner, head resting on his knees. He didn’t have to worry about missing calls or texts for anyone important, not yet. The SIU director wouldn’t be summoning him for another few hours; right before it was time to raze the palace of envy back to the ground. Just a little long, he wanted to ignore reality just a little longer. Playing pretend in the final hour would be bitter indeed.

This would be worth it in the end. Or, that’s what he kept insisting to himself. Lying was a habit, closing his eye to the bloody truth and blocking his ears. Killing shadows was easy. More times than not he pulled the trigger while they were still wearing monstrous faces, grotesque forms with spindly limbs and inhuman faces. He also rarely watched the aftermath, when the mental shutdown occurred, and the brain died.

He’d willingly bloodied his hands for the sake of vengeance. Had matched from one fresh hell into another, and he was so close to achieving his ambitions. He’d already sacrificed so much for this, the life of a faceless teen was nothing. Even if that faceless teen was Joker.

Burning bridges was a specialty.

The innocent, encouraging look Joker shot him before the world melted away into darkness made his stomach churn. The smile he pined in place was doubtlessly fake, plastic and painted to be charming and confidents. A smile that fooled the masses of ignorant fools who prattled on and on about his greatness, day in and day out. What would they think if they could see the depraved child hidden beneath?

Falling in line behind their raven-haired leader, he followed behind in the shadow of the young man he would be killing in a few short hours. The faux confidence was just that, fake and plastic. ‘Crow’ wasn’t real, he was just another mask, another lie to get what he wanted. What would they say? What would they think, if they could see the real him?

Sae’s shadow was determined to make this as challenging as possible. The urge to shoot his superior between the eyes, get this over and done with, made his fingers itch. One small squeeze of the trigger, and it would all be over with. Staring back at her painted face, the face of all her frustration and bitterness to a system that was flawed and rotten to the core, if you couldn’t die young as the naive hero, you grew into a pessimistic villain.

If the shadow expected them to believe this game wasn’t rigged, after trudging on through several others rigged to ensure their loss, Sae was a bigger idiot than Skull. Unfortunately, she was the master of this twisted palace, and that meant her word was law in this world. So, they had no choice but to play along, for now.

Breaking the rule against violence resulted in a torrent of over-sized poker chips raining down on the offender. Now porker chips on their own, even this dinner-plate sized ones, weren’t all that dangerous. A couple hundred raining down, along with the mind-breaking power boost from the warped rules and logic of this place, that hurt. Or, it did when that happened to Skull. The blond lost a fair chunk of health because of his brash impatients. Play or die. Neither were all that inviting, but those were the options until they could call her out on the cheating.

The barely-there flash of light on an opaque surface. The hint the needed. A glass lid. The perfect method of cheating for roulette.

“Crow, I leave it to you to snipe the lid the next round,” Joker whispered to him. “I trust your eye, make her see we’ve figured out her tricks.”

Hiding behind one of the elevated flowerpots, Crow held his gun steady, the muzzle pointed to the repeating squares of black and red. When the next bet was decided, and the stakes set, the wheel began to spin. Ruby red and raven black melded together until the roulette slowed. Joker had gone for a high-stakes bet this time around, trusting in his eye to win them big. As the ball began to slow, rust-colored eyes followed like a hawk. Right before it was bound to land on the 7, the lid appeared. Squeezing the trigger, the beam of electric blue sailed through the air and hit home.

The lid shattered and the ball fell into a winning pocket. Their win.

Not taking well to being called out on her cheating, the real fight began. Sae’s shadow cast aside her human appearance. The monstrous body of blackened metal and fury snarled down on them, hatched and cannon ready for mayhem. With a wrathful roar, she charged.

Those with glass defense and ranged attacks took to the side, lobbing magic down on their foe while the brawlers took to close-range combat. Akechi was someplace in the middle. While Joker and Fox had the silver-haired woman distracted, he would rush in, wailing on her with brave blade before leaping back to safety and joining Queen in raining magic down upon her.

Following up behind Noir, he readied his attack while the curly brunette girl cracked her ax down against the shadow’s over-sized hatchet. Or, that’s what was supposed to happen. Metal shrieked against metal as hatchet clashed with ax blade, but as Akechi prepared to attack, the muzzle of the gun appeared in his face. Instead of hitting Sae, his brave blade hit the bullet, triggering it and causing an explosion.

Stunned by the blast, Akechi was limp as he was sent flying. Bracing for impact, he was prepared to hit the carpet. By now, he should have expected to be caught.

The brunette was still surprised when Joker caught him, flashing him a cocky smile before landing. For a moment, the detective let his temporary leader and target hold him. One arm was hooked under his knees while the other was bent around his back. How many times now, had one of the caught him before he could fall?

It was a shame they hadn’t been there to catch him back then.

He didn’t need to say anything for Joker to put him down, and the raven wisely said nothing about what happened just seconds ago. His mana was a bit drained, but he still had it in him for a few more spells. Unspoken, Joker charged at Sae while Akechi covered him.

The end was in sight, both to this battle, and to Joker.

Akechi Goro was no stranger to falling. The last decade or so of his life could be summarized as doing just that. Up until now, he’d never known what it was like to have people catch him when he fell, or help him up.

Pressing the gun to the head of the teen known as Joker, he hid the pain with a malicious smile. He was no stranger to falling, and as he pulled the trigger, he fell. Unlike in Sae’s palace, there was no one to catch him. He fell into darkness willingly, no one had stopped him, and now, there was no one left to stop him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two more chapter after this, one for Violet, and one for the final of the third trimester in Royal. Because these are both Royal related chapters, they will not be composed until well after the game is released. So, just expect a long hiatus until then.


	9. Violet

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And you thought I was done.

Akechi would be lying if he said the unknown palace didn’t unnerve him on some level. The stark white tiles and sterile cleanness of the halls gave it a hospital feel- he didn’t have many fond memories of hospitals. Between the innumerable doctors and nurses who couldn’t be bothered to give a damn about a single orphaned bastard’s suffering, who always turned a blind eye and wrote off his many scars and bruises that could only have come from abuse and bullying as ‘children playing roughly’, left him wallowing in suffocating oppressiveness. Something that had followed him, even during his time as the beloved ‘second detective prince’.

The palace itself only intensified his anxiety. The shadows milled around and spoke with the same blind intensity of cultists. Between that and the unabashed manipulation of reality to create a world so overwhelmingly saccharinely sweet and perfect, it was obvious the ruler of this place was missing most of their screws- if not all of them. Only a blind fool could step into this fax reality of happiness and not gag on the sheer intensity of perfection.

As if happiness was so easily earned, as if there could ever be a perfect world such as this one. Akechi scoffed at the thought, all pessimism, and realism. As if anyone could erase the blackness from his skin without scraping away flesh down to the bone. 

Trailing behind Joker and Yoshizawa, the later practically pressed against the former as she asked him numerous questions in loud whispers that were definitely not as quiet as she thought they were (watching the pair interact so closely made his skin crawl, but also made his gut lurch in a way the brunette refused to admit was envy). 

Despite having only recently awakened to her persona, the younger girl was surprisingly adept at wielding her powers. If he recalled correctly, this was her first true run through a palace, and all the violent, messy battles that entailed. Akechi could give her that much, at least, not even he’d been so adept and confident with his powers so early on. But that was all the praise he could give her. The redhead might be progidial in her talents, but her naivety and rookiness shown through just as clearly.

She was often making mistakes and tripping up over things only a novice would struggle with. No amount of chipper positivity and determination could overshadow the fact she was, still, just a 15-year-old highschooler.

Deep in the middle of his thinking, or brooding as Joker liked to call it, Akechi almost missed when the younger boy darted into the shadows of a corner. Falling into place behind the cheeky, confident raven, Akechi spotted the reason for the increase in caution; walking towards them with lackadsy carelessness was the lab-coated body of a shadow out on patrol. While neither himself nor Joker were weak, the shadows that inhabited this place were strong, some of the strongest he’d seen outside of the deepest parts of mementos, and with only 2 and a half members in the party (Yoshizawa would be a full member the moment she stopped panicking in the middle of a fight) against foes that more often than not didn’t have weaknesses, caution was advised.

Maneuvering around the shadow, ignorant to their presence, Joker lunged with all the poise and grace of a cat, and tear the shadow’s mask off with a soft, satisfying riip. The eldritch mass of tentacles and snapping maws looked like it could be right at home among the twisted entities of Lovecraftian mythology. Akechi felt a grin made entirely of teeth split his mouth wipe open. It felt soo good to cut loose and not have to pretend, to cast his goody-two-shoes shtick into the wind and attack with the ferociousness of a wild animal. Loki’s mask reverberated within vicious laughter as he charged.

Despite the seemingly impulsive wildness of his attacks, the brunette was nothing less than in total control of his actions. Every spell, every stroke of his sword, even the way he duck and wove between the monster’s thrashing tentacles was done with purpose and forethought. Years spent stalking the grim darkness of the metaverse all alone, with only his personas for company and support, had tempered all of his senses into a shark keenness. His instincts and awareness with at such a level very few things could catch him off guard or escape his awareness.

It was this keen intuition that warned him Yoshizawa was about to be his with an attack her low level would not be able to withstand. Snarling, the feral teen made his choice split-second, and charged at the girl. Her small, lith gymnast body was easy to push out of harm's way as a torrential cascade of swift tentacles crashed down. The power coiled behind the attack sent him flying backward, probably crashing into a wall if not for the girl he’d just protected a moment ago stepping in. With the assistance of her persona, Yoshizawa managed to stop his momentum, and even hold him up- hands braced under his armpits.

Several meters away, the shadow wailed it’s dying scream as Joker finished it off.

Pulling away from the fretting girl, Akechi stumbled the first few steps as his sense of balance unscrambled, then cast his temporary teammate a flat look. “Next time, pay more attention to your surroundings, neither I nor Joker can babysit you the entire fight.” He barked. Yoshizawa wilted, nodding pathetically. Sighing, Akechi stomped down the brickle of guilt. “…Thanks, for catching me.” He grunted as an afterthought.

The small, insignificant amount of prays had the girl beaming and smiling. Akechi watched her skin all the way over to Joker’s side and start conversing with him, hands flailing.

He didn’t trust her, not one bit. Yoshizawa Kasumi was dead, and though the girl standing before him, answering to the dead girl’s name certainly looked like her, it was undoubtedly the girl’s younger sister, Yoshizawa Sumire. It was the younger twin who sported the vibrant crimson hair, Kasumi’s long tresses had been a muted chocolate brown. Also, the younger sister lacked the more her elder twin had under her left eye. If the girl didn’t have a persona, he would have been dead certain she was this palace’s ruler. He still suspected she might be, but would not be blind-sided if someone else was the master of this twisted place.

Akechi dragged Violet out of the way of the curse attack that would have, at best knocked her over, at worst knock her out. The attack harmlessly clipped him, Loki’s power nullifying the attack. The rest of the thieves converged on the shadow, making quick work of it while he glared at the newest addition.

“You need to be more mindful of your weakness!” He all but snarled at the smaller girl. “One wrong move in this place and your liable to drag us all down.”

The scarlet-haired girl sniffled out an apology and nodded quickly. Huffing out a tired sigh, Akechi withdrew his hands from her shoulders and, begrudgingly, patted her on the head as some form of comfort. In his defense, he was still new to this whole ‘support and comfort others’ thing. Really, Joker should have just taken her under his wing himself, instead of leaving Akechi to half-heartedly mentor her. That was the thieves’ thing, not his.

The next few shadows were a weak lot, not even strong enough to put up much of a fight. Akechi swept through them with the power of a runaway train. His wild mannerisms and blood-thirsty nature had everyone sans Violet and Joker giving him a wide birth. Despite the former’s meek nature and tendency to shy away from him in his more violent moments, she was always there on his heel to see the battle through.

Reviling in the feel of flesh tearing like wet paper beneath him, Akechi let a rough laugh bubble from his lips. He twisted and swived, body bending and contorting to avoid attacks with the grace and flexibility of a snake. Lifting the body of his sword, the brunette chuckled as another shadow’s talons bounced harmlessly off his weapon. It felt good to the point of making him giddy.

The shadow rushed at him again, this time its talons locked with his weapon, leaving the two in a deadlock. He gathered his strength to overwhelm the piteous creature, reading to tear it limb from limb when his instincts screamed at him to duck and roll. He was just barely fast enough to avoid taking the bless attack, his weakness, in the face. The holy light clicked the left side of his ribcage, sending Akechi stumbling to the right. Dazed and fallen, the brunette was helpless to stop the shadow from attacking him a second time, with another light attack. The force of the blow hit him dead-center in his chest, sending him flying.

Instead of landing painfully on the cold, sterile floor of Maruki’s palace, his back landed against something warm and yielding. An arm hooked around his shoulders while it’s twin hooked underneath his legs, hefting his slender body up with only a gruff exhale. Tucked against a collarbone, Akechi’s pain-addled mind found itself lulled into drowsiness by the firm, even beat of a living heart.

He wasn’t sure how long he remained like that, cradled and sleepy, before someone finally had the mind to cast diarahan or some derivative on him. Blinking his eyes back into focus, Akechi found himself held securely in Violet’s arms. With an embarrassed squeak, he managed to slip free of her grasp without issue, face radiating head behind his dark mask.

“T-t-thank you, violet.” He stammered. Akechi shot the snickering thieves a pointed glare, shushing most of them.

“O-oh, that’s quite alright!” The smaller girl replied. “You’ve done almost the same for me. I’m just glad I caught you in time.” She fiddled nervously with the sleeve of her coat, eyes glued to the ground nervously. “But, I was a little surprised by how easy it was. I know Skull-sempai and the others mentioned it to me, but, I thought they were exaggerating.”

Grating his teeth, Akechi felt the very real impulse to maul the other thieves. Even after betraying them, trying to kill them, and only coming to a tentative peace over a shared enemy, the phantom thieves still insisted on teasing him over –that-. Instead, he put on a false smile and shrugged.

“Yes, I know, I’m well aware it’s uncommon for people of my height to be so light.” He said with only light self-depreciation.

“Yes, that is true,” she mumbled. “but, well, have you ever considered doing gymnastics? While the sport does favor those with a more petite body shape, your light enough and have an excellent sense of balance, and I really do think you’d take home a gold medal with no issue.” Violet beamed up on him. “and if you need help with a meal plan, I know a lot about nutrition.”

Nope.

Akechi spun on his heel and removed himself from the conversation. Behind him, he heard Violet stammer out an apology while a few others (namely skull) snickered at him running away (he was not!). Akechi simply had enough of people motherheanning him after Sae’s palace.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> At first, I debated making Kasumi and Violet their own separate chapters, but decided not to cause to Goro they were always the same person.


End file.
